The Price We Pay
by feeling brave
Summary: Another city falls to the Decepticons and that's only the begining. Contains pairings and violence.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own the Transformers, I just like to write about them.

Author's note: As usual my heartfelt thanks go out to the wonderful Daebereth for all her help and for putting up with me. Enjoy.

**The Price We Pay**

Chapter 1

Despite mobilising as soon as the reports of the latest Decepticon attack had come in, the Autobots had been too late. Praxus, a city once famed for it's beauty, had been reduced to smouldering ruins and all they could do to search for survivors.

The twins and Bluestreak had been dispatched to check one set of life-signs that Hound had picked up, while other teams searched out others. Sunstreaker was in the lead, his faceplates a grim mask of barely restrained revulsion. He'd seen cities fall before, his own included, but there was no excuse for such waste.

To his processor, this was the worst kind of destruction. Praxus hadn't been a military base, it had posed no threat, but the Decepticons had shown it no mercy and thousands of lives had been lost.

He understood that the only reason the city had lasted as long as it had was because of its proximity to Iacon. But that knowledge only made him feel worse, as he didn't want to be able to think like that. Once, even trying to comprehend what his optics were seeing would have left him purging his tanks and screaming for his creators like a sparkling, but he had ceased to be that weak long before he had even met the young mech he had fallen in love with.

Sunstreaker's foot touched the ground as he took one last step before the blast knocked him forward, separating him from Bluestreak and his brother and burying him under the remains of what had once been a building, "Run!" he ordered them, "Get out of here."

"Not without you," the youngest of the three of them snapped, as Sideswipe began tearing at the debris to get to him.

For an instant the yellow warrior wondered why Bluestreak wasn't helping, but when he looked closer through the flames and wreckage he understood - the young gunner had been right behind him when he had triggered the explosion, and his torso was smeared with what could only have been his own energon.

To make matters worse he could hear the unmistakable drone of Seeker engines heading in their direction. Forcing down his pride, Sunstreaker activated his comm-link, "Prowl, we need help now," he roared. There was no doubt in his processor that if his lover wasn't injured the three of them could deal with the Decepticons, but he wasn't willing to bet the younger mech's life that he could keep him safe. "We've got incoming and Blue's hurt."

"Copy that," Prowl responded immediately.

"Blue find some cover, you're in no condition to fight, Sides get this slag off me."

As the first shots sounded above them, the twins broke through the last of the rubble and Sunstreaker hauled himself upright, too angry to even check to see if he was hurt before he launched himself at the first Decepticon that came close enough.

His rage fuelled him until the second unit arrived and when the Seekers saw they were outnumbered, they quickly retreated.

"Sunny, you alright?" his brother asked him once they were safe.

"Where's Blue?" the yellow twin demanded instead of answering his brother's question.

"He went that way," Sideswipe said pointing at a small, burnt out building.

Sunstreaker didn't wait to see if his twin followed him or not before he started running, calling out for his lover as he entered the structure. There wasn't much left but Bluestreak had chosen the best possible place to hide before his strength had run out.

"Blue," he whispered softly as he bent over the young mech, "It's okay, I've got you," he added as he pulled his partner into his arms.

"I know," the gunner murmured, "Get me out of here Sunny."

"How is he?" Sideswipe asked from the entrance.

"Not good, I'm taking him straight to Ratchet."

"I'll join you as soon as I can, Hound just told me that Jazz has found some survivors and he needs all the help he can get digging them out of their bunker."

"Well at least this mission wasn't a total waste then," Sunstreaker snapped before he marched away.

The shuttle Ratchet had brought and was using as a temporary med-bay was packed with the wounded but Sunstreaker didn't spare them a glance as he made his way through them to the C.M.O., who didn't even look up as he approached.

"Help him," he demanded, holding Bluestreak out to the medic.

"As soon as I can Sunny," Ratchet answered, "I'm up to my optics right now."

"But…"

"He's not dying Sunstreaker, some of these 'bots will be lucky if they live to see Iacon, so don't start," he warned, "Here take this and do the best you can for him."

With a low growl, the yellow warrior snatched up the medi-kit Ratchet offered and stormed off to find enough room for him to tend to his partner. There wasn't much to spare but Sunstreaker was more than aware that few 'bots would get in his way.

* * *

Half a cycle later, Iacon's med-bay was finally starting to settle down. The casualties that could be saved were stabilised, although repairing them all would keep Ratchet busy for cycles, but at least there would be no more deactivations.

"Take a few breems and drink this," Sideswipe urged him as he pushed a cup of energon into his hands.

Ratchet glared at him but his energy levels were too low to say no. "Thanks Sides," he said grudgingly. "How's Blue?" the young gunner had taken a lot of damage to his right arm and there had been no other choice but to remove it so that it could be rebuilt.

"Talking," Sideswipe smiled, as that was always a good sign with Bluestreak and Ratchet felt himself relax slightly. "I think he's more worried about Sunny than anything else, seeing Blue hurt always bothers him more than he'll admit."

Ratchet nodded, Sunstreaker was the reason why Sideswipe was in the med-bay at all. The yellow twin had been close to frantic with worry by the time they had arrived back in Iacon and Ratchet had been forced to call his brother in to calm him.

"How is he now?" the C.M.O. asked cautiously.

"Better than he was but he won't settle 'til Blue's out of here. Don't worry, it's nothing new and we know how to handle him," Sideswipe explained, before he pulled his lover into his arms with a disarming smile, "Relax."

"In a while," Ratchet answered as he nodded towards the door that Jazz and Prowl had just walked through. The saboteur headed straight to Bluestreak's side while Prowl approached the medic purposefully.

"It must be nice to be able to split things like that," Sideswipe mused before he wandered off, he knew all too well that the imminent conversation with Prowl would be all business and he had no wish to get in the way.

Sunstreaker stood up wordlessly as the older mechs entered, and made room for Jazz at the side of Bluestreak's berth.

"How's it goin' Blue?" Jazz asked affectionately.

"I'm okay," the young mech answered as they embraced, "Or at least, I will be once Ratch gets me fixed up but he says that could take a few cycles. Your debriefing took a long time."

"There was a lot to talk about," the saboteur answered sombrely, "The short version is that Praxus was a diversion and it worked, all of our forces were concentrated on that city, while Megatron activated his energy drainer…"

"Oh, Primus," Bluestreak interrupted. "I thought you stopped that."

"I slowed it down, destroyed part of it, but then the Decepticons hit Nova Cronum and Prowl called me back. Our intelligence told us that Megatron had given up the idea, but they were wrong."

"So what's next?"

"I'm taking a team in to shut it down."

"Who?" Bluestreak asked.

"Wheeljack, Mirage and the twins."

"I'm not leaving Blue," Sunstreaker snapped as Jazz said his last word.

"I know you don't want to Sunny, I don't blame you, he had us all worried…"

"Then why did it take you half a cycle to get down here?" the yellow twin demanded.

The saboteur's usually calm attitude vanished in less than a micron, his lip components formed a tight scowl and every movement became more deliberate, "If this thing isn't stopped we've got cycles before it starts affecting us. Our choices are act now or die, we're out of time Sunstreaker. Whether we like it or not, how we feel is just gonna have to wait."

"So this is happening because you failed your mission?" Sunstreaker snarled accusingly.

"Sunstreaker!" Prowl yelled from across the med-bay.

"Stay out of this Prowl," the warrior barked, "This is a private conversation."

"One that is taking place in my med-bay," Ratchet put in, "And I swear Sunny, if you start a fight in here then you'll wish it was The Unmaker himself reformatting you and not me."

"Ratch please…" Sideswipe began.

"That's enough," Jazz ordered, his calm voice silenced everyone and they turned to look at him. "Sunny needs an answer, so I'll give him one."

"You don't have to Jazz," Prowl stated.

"No, I don't, as far as my missions go I don't report to anyone but Prime," the saboteur said pointedly. "But just this once I'll make an exception. I was in Decepticon territory for almost half a vorn. With help from our spies I infiltrated one of the teams building the energy drainer, spent most of my time with mechs who would have turned me over to Megatron in a spark-pulse if they'd even suspected that I wasn't who I said I was, killed and lied my way into the unit that were moving it to its assembly point, then planted a bomb and waited as it counted down so that no one would suspect that there was anything wrong…"

"Jazz…" Prowl warned.

"Then I ran," Jazz continued with out missing a beat, "barely made it to Nova Cronum before they caught up with me, and nearly got slagged waiting for Ultra Magnus to even up the odds. So tell me, Sunstreaker do you think you could have done any better? 'Cause if you can, I'll put you through Special Ops training myself and you can have my job, but while you're thinking about that, I'll be waiting for you on the shuttle. Don't take too long," he finished curtly before he turned on his heel and stormed out of the med-bay.

Sideswipe let out a long blast on his cooling vents and looked at his twin, "Way to go Sunny," he muttered. "I've never seen Jazz that fragged at anything and now we've got to get on a shuttle with him," he said with mock cheerfulness as he followed the other mech out.

Sunstreaker watched his twin leave before he looked down at his partner, then glanced at Prowl and Ratchet. All three mechs met his optics with a level gaze and not one of them looked happy. Lesser mechs would have backed down, but Sunstreaker wasn't about to do that.

"This is important Sunny," Bluestreak said quietly, "You'd better go. Ratch and Prowl will take good care of me, but Jazz needs you."

The yellow warrior glanced at the medic and the tactician. "They'd better," he hissed.

The two officers nodded their agreement and Sunstreaker returned his attention to his lover. "Be careful Sunny," Bluestreak warned him, "I want you back in one piece."

"Love you Blue," he whispered before he strode away.

* * *

From his seat in the main cabin of the shuttle Wheeljack looked up as Jazz stomped in and threw himself into the opposite chair. "Problem?" he asked worriedly.

"A big, yellow one," the saboteur snapped. "I told Prime that taking the twins was a bad plan, especially with Blue in the med-bay, but would he listen to me? No. And why? Because Prowl thinks I need a body-guard."

"You can't be angry at him for worrying about you."

"He's never been this bad before."

"D'you think that it might be because he understands the danger you put yourself in when you're on a mission now?" Wheeljack asked.

Jazz sagged visibly, his anger gone, replaced by realisation and sorrow, "I should have known," he whispered, "I thought it was Praxus that had him rattled, not that. My attention was on the hub, not him. Frag it 'Jack, I tried so hard to protect him, all of them but I always end up letting them down when they need me."

"You're one mech Jazz, you can't fight this war for them." The engineer said soothingly.

"They are the reason I fight," Jazz snapped, his voice was cold again, the part of his face that could be seen was tight, and unreadable, "I got involved in the hope that it would all be over by the time Blue was old enough to hold a rifle, took combat training so that I could defend him and Prowl, killed to give the twins a chance, and for what? Blue's missing an arm in the med-bay, Sunny's a push away from losing it, Prowl's probably not far behind him and Sides'…"

"Is alive thanks to you," the red twin interrupted.

Jazz spun around to face the mech standing in the doorway, "How long have you been there?" he demanded.

"I came in on 'Frag it 'Jack' but I figured that you needed to get the rest of it out of your system," Sideswipe said with a disarming smile.

"Oh Primus," the visored mech cursed, rising from his chair and pacing the room in a sudden fit of restlessness, "You were never meant to hear that."

"Maybe it's a good thing I did though, 'cause I can set you straight on a few things. I've never forgotten what you did for me in Perihex, neither has Sunny. You're one of a handful of mechs he trusts and you shouldn't let him rile you. He's got rights to be worried about Blue, but he shouldn't have spoken to you like that. I'll talk to him when he gets here."

"He's coming then?"

Sideswipe nodded, "He's calming down too, but I think you better leave him to me for a while."

"I've got things to do anyway," Jazz said calmly, and without further comment, he started pulling weapons and supplies out his sub-space and a few specially designed cavities in his armour, and laying them on a nearby table ready to be inspected.

Sideswipe looked at Wheeljack, "I thought this was an in and out mission," he muttered.

"It is, but Jazz has been caught out before and he doesn't take chances now," the engineer answered, "And I don't think that's all he's doing, knowing him he's probably sorting a few things out with Prowl too. Your brother isn't his only problem at the moment."

Mirage and Trailbreaker entered the cabin at that moment, chatting cheerfully and grinning. "Is something wrong?" Mirage asked as he looked over the mechs that were already there.

"Sunny's fragged 'cause he doesn't want to leave Blue, and Jazz isn't too happy about it either," Sideswipe answered quickly, "And speaking of my brother…" he smirked as Sunstreaker stepped through the hatch.

"What?" his twin demanded.

"Nothing," Sideswipe teased lightly.

"Be like that then," Sunstreaker muttered, his optics rested on Jazz who was efficiently cleaning his sidearm and seemed to be completely ignoring everyone.

"C'mon Sunny," Sideswipe said gesturing to the aft cabin, "Let's go settle in."

* * *

Breems passed by slowly and the med-bay was still too busy for Bluestreak to recharge in. It seemed that every time he started to power-down his systems, Ratchet started yelling, the young gunner shifted again hoping that this time he would find a comfortable position, failed and gave up.

"Ratch?" he called quietly, knowing that just because he couldn't shutdown there was no need to disturb anyone else.

"What is it Blue?" the medic asked without looking up from his current patient.

"Can I get out of here for a while? I mean apart from not having an arm there's nothing wrong with me and it isn't exactly relaxing in here."

Ratchet set down a tool carefully and looked at the younger mech, studying him for a moment before he spoke again, "Any problems you come straight back here," he ordered.

"Yes Sir," Bluestreak replied before he pushed himself off the berth with his good arm and left quickly so that the older mech wouldn't have time to change his mind.

He soon discovered that the rec room was deserted, so he filled two cups with energon and was heading towards Prowl's office when he heard noises from one of the training rooms. Curiously, he peeked in and was surprised to discover that the mech using the room was none other than the tactician he was looking for.

"Aren't you supposed to be in the med-bay?" Prowl asked, without looking around, as soon as the younger mech was through the door.

"Ratchet let me out for some energon," he explained quickly, "I thought you could use some too, I was gonna bring it to your office but you're here. You don't come here often, are you alright?"

"No," Prowl snapped, "That's why I'm kicking the slag out of a sparring drone, Prime doesn't like it when his officers start trying to rip each other to pieces."

"What?" Bluestreak exclaimed in confusion, "I mean… sorry… but you're usually the calm one and you were fine earlier."

The older mechs chuckle was humourless and a little unnerving, "That was because I had to be, never mind the fact that I was about to send the mech I love more than _anything_ off on yet another suicide mission, or that you were missing an _arm_, or that the city I was sparked in had just become a smoking _ruin_," every few words of the tactician's tirade was punctuated by a dull clang as his fist made contact with the drone, "None of that matters, it can't," on the last word Prowl hit the drone so hard it flew backwards off the mat, landed in a heap and didn't move again.

"Err… Prowl…" Bluestreak began hesitantly, "Maybe you should take a break," he suggested.

"No," Prowl snarled, "Next!" he yelled and another drone trundled out of the store room, "As it happens," he continued as he started to fight again, "I was handling things. Jazz and I didn't get much time to talk before he left, but we've made time since, I've managed to get through all the reports and made my recommendations, I even found a chance to explain my ideas to Prime."

"So… what… caused this?" the younger mech dared to ask.

"That over zealous, blundering, insensitive excuse for a mech Prime calls a unit commander, you may know him as Ironhide."

On Prowl's last word Bluestreak almost choked on his own vocaliser, as too many questions he didn't have the courage to ask flew through his processor. The tactician glanced at him then returned his attention to the already badly dented drone.

"He says that my plans are a waste of time, that I'd be more useful if I paid attention to the here and now, not the might be and some time. He says that bringing the 'bots from Nova Cronum here to boost our numbers is pretty much surrendering. He can't see that one stronghold is easier to defend than two, or that…" the black and white broke off suddenly and looked guiltily at his friend.

"I'm listening," Bluestreak prompted him, "Or do you think I won't understand?"

"It's not that," the tactician disagreed, "I just wish you didn't have to. We're losing this war a city at a time Blue. Kaon, Vos, Tarn, Uraya, the Hexes, Crystal City and now Praxus. Assuming that Jazz' mission is successful, Nova Cronum will be next and then Iacon, but if he fails…"

"We're done for," Bluestreak finished for him, "I was listening in the med-bay," he said fiercely, "But Jazz doesn't know how to quit, he'd walk into the smelting pit before he let us down."

"Where do you think he's gone?" Prowl snapped, "I sent him there, on another slagging mission that could easily get him killed. I should have seen this coming, Praxus was an easy target, the perfect diversion, and my attention was there when it should have been working out why they attacked it in the first place." The second drone landed beside the first and didn't get up, "Next!"

Bluestreak decided that maybe the best thing he could do was just let his friend do what he needed to and be there when he was done. The third drone didn't last long compared to the other two and when it was broken Prowl sank to his knees.

"I'm sorry Blue," Prowl said quietly after a few moments, his vents were still whirring with the effort of keeping his systems cool but his tone was much calmer, "Praxus was my home before I came to Iacon and seeing it fall…"

Cautiously the younger mech moved closer and managed to get his arm around Prowl, "Are you done?" he asked, Prowl nodded and Bluestreak continued soothingly, "You taught me that trying to protect the 'bots we love is the most important thing we can do, and the hardest. You, Jazz and Sunny have spent your lives doing that for me and now I think it's my turn, I'm here."

"Thanks Blue," Prowl whispered, "I needed someone to listen to me for a while."

"And something to punch the slag out of," the younger mech added.

"Yeah, that too," Prowl agreed with just a trace of a true smile on his lip components, "I'd best be getting back."

"Do you want a hand?" Bluestreak offered.

The tactician nodded. "That'd be good," he rose a little stiffly, retrieved the cup of energon Bluestreak had left on a bench for him, drank it and looked the gunner in the optics, "We're gonna get through this," he said confidently.

Bluestreak smiled, "Yep and all over-zealous, blundering mechs can go to the pit."

"That's your unit commander you're talking about," Prowl scolded him good-humouredly.

"Yeah, but you ain't gonna tell him,"

Prowl chuckled and threw an arm over Bluestreaks shoulders, "I think you've been spending far too much time with Jazz. Come on, we've got work to do."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own the Transformers, I just like to write about them.

**The Price We Pay**

Chapter 2

Wheeljack shuddered as his optics scanned the scene outside the shuttle view-screen. Before him lay the city of Kaon, the Decepticon capital, and the seat of Megatron's power.

"What is it 'Jack?" Jazz asked him as he sub-spaced the last of his weapons. The saboteur's mood hadn't lightened much during their flight but at least he was calm again and Wheeljack guessed that he had Prowl to thank for the small improvement.

"I never wanted to see this place again," the engineer admitted, "but some things are more important. You ready?"

"Always am," the saboteur nodded grimly, "Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Mirage, stand by. 'Breaker, take us down."

Wheeljack shot him a quizzical look.

"I know it's you and 'Raj," Jazz responded, "But I don't usually command the twins. They see me as their friend and most of the time that's a good thing, frag, it's all that stopped Sunstreaker tearing me apart more than once, but they need to follow my orders now or they'll get themselves killed."

"Have you told them this?"

"No, but we both now that listening isn't something either of them are any good at, especially Sunny. If I have to be tough with them to keep them safe, then so be it."

"So who's idea was it to bring them along?"

"Prowl said that I needed someone to watch my back and Prime decided that the twins were the best mechs for the job. If I'd had my way I'd be doing this alone."

"That's insane, Jazz this is Kaon, you'd be shot on sight."

"They'd have to see me first, but what's done is done," his friend said in a resigned tone, before he stepped though the door into the cabin where the rest of his team were waiting.

"Primus help us," Wheeljack muttered to himself before he followed.

"Listen up," Jazz barked as soon as he joined the others, "We'll be landing soon so let's get this straight, once we're on the ground I'll hack the hub, we find the device, let Wheeljack at it, and get the pit out of there," he hesitated for a moment as he listened to his comm then continued, "'Breaker says we're as close as he can get us. Move out." Without another word he slipped through the hatch. Leaving the others to follow.

Mirage shot a quick smile around the group of mechs and vanished before their optics. Only the softest of footfalls betrayed his position as he left the shuttle.

"Any chance you can rig one of those up for me?" Sideswipe asked Wheeljack with a grin.

"I've tried to copy Mirage's invisibility generator," the engineer answered, "But they tend to go boom," he chuckled softly and motioned for the twins to get a move on.

A natural incline hid their position from the city and Jazz was already ghosting towards its crest. Keeping low and following the engineer's lead, the twins moved to join him. "We've got three mechs keeping look out from that tower - they're hub-linked but I can handle that. Mirage, take the twins and don't get caught."

"Yes Sir," Mirages disembodied voice answered.

"Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, I'm boosting my shield so that you won't be seen, but I can't stretch it far, so stay close," the spy ordered.

As the unseen mech spoke, Sunstreaker watched his brother disappear and a moment later, an energy wave he'd never felt the like of before washed through him. He could see Sideswipe and Mirage again and just in front of him a force-shield shimmered.

"I can't block out noise," Mirage informed the brothers, "So keep quiet, comms are for emergency use only, got that?"

The twins nodded quickly and Mirage led them towards the city. A breem or so later, the three mechs entered the tower and followed the voices of the Decepticons to the main room.

"Make it quick," Mirage hissed before he dropped the shield and they leapt at their enemies as one.

In Sunstreaker's opinion it wasn't much of a fight. The Decepticons were taken completely by surprise and in only a few astro-seconds, all three of them were laying in puddles of their own energon, "Too easy," he muttered as he wiped a drop of someone else's coolant off his armour.

"Would you rather that it was too hard?" Mirage asked dryly as he pulled one of the fallen mechs out of his way. "This is only the start." Casually he leant against one of the consoles and unspaced two energon rations, drank one quickly and tossed the other to Jazz, who caught it effortlessly as he walked through the door.

The saboteur smiled in thanks and took a seat without speaking.

"So what's next?" Sideswipe asked.

"Jazz is working on the hub, we'll know more in a breem," Wheeljack answered.

The red twin looked at Wheeljack, curiously. "Didn't you tell me once that hubs are really complicated? Or was it Blaster?"

"Wasn't me," the engineer assured him. "But you're right, any hub contains more information than any processor can handle - the communications for the entire city, reports on everything you can imagine and more. Fortunately for us, I know of only one Autobot better than Jazz at handling them, but then, Blaster has help."

"You can do that?" Sideswipe asked the saboteur.

"Ever tried listening to a symphony to find the one note that's out of place?" Jazz questioned him.

"Can't say I have," the warrior admitted.

"Try it some time," Jazz said with a slight smirk.

"So that's why you don't get caught," Wheeljack mused, "Everyone that uses a hub employs searches, either keywords or codes to find what they're looking for, but you actually listen to it. Where the pit did you learn that?"

"Perihex," his friend informed him, "I had nothing else to do while I was in the holding cells."

"Amazing," Wheeljack said appreciatively, "I don't think I've ever heard of anyone else doing it that way. How do you get past the security protocols?"

"Find someone with clearance and follow them in."

"What? That shouldn't even be possible,"

"Don't ask me how it works," Jazz grinned, "It just does. I've got a grid reference, 'Jack can you get us to Sector Five?"

The engineer nodded, "It's not too far from here,"

"Good," the black and white nodded before he opened the ration Mirage had given him and drank deeply. "Let's go," he ordered as he stood up again.

"How do you know where we're going?" Mirage asked Wheeljack as they left the tower.

"I was sparked in this city," the engineer answered sadly, earning himself surprised looks from everyone except Jazz. "My creator sent me to Perihex on business, cycles before it fell. No one knew what was going to happen."

"You never told me," the spy murmured.

"It's not something I'm comfortable talking about," Wheeljack told him. Mirage brushed his hand against the engineer's affectionately and together they moved on in silence.

Jazz pulled the group up short a few breems later. "There's a patrol heading our way," he whispered. "Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, with me. Mirage, you have your orders."

The blue and white mech inclined his head slightly and Jazz led the twins off again, this time moving slower and keeping to the shadows, until he came to a halt at the corner of a building and pulled a laser-knife out of a cavity in his armour.

When Jazz pounced, the twins were only half an astro-second behind him. Two of the Decepticons died almost instantly as Jazz and Sunstreaker sliced through primary fuel lines without stopping to think and the third fell to Sideswipe a moment later.

As the saboteur trotted back to Wheeljack and Mirage, Sideswipe looked at his brother, the bond they shared telling him that something was wrong. "What is it?" he whispered.

"He almost beat me," his twin murmured distractedly.

"What? Sunny, that mech never stood a chance."

"Not him," Sunstreaker corrected his twin with a sneer towards the fallen mech. "Jazz. Granted he got a head start but there was only a spark-pulse's difference in the time we took."

"Does it matter?"

"Matters to me."

An almost forgotten feeling of dread washed over Sideswipe. It had been a long time since his brother had felt like this to him, the last time being about half a vorn before that night in Iacon when they had first met Bluestreak, a time when he had sat in the stalls watching his brother compete in the State Games. "The Games were over a long time ago Sunny," he said hoping that Sunstreaker wouldn't take offence.

"Tell me about it," Sunstreaker said sadly. "The strange thing is, all this sneaking around in the dark makes me miss The Arena. I'm not built to hide in shadows."

"Ain't that the truth," Sideswipe nodded as Jazz and the others rejoined them and Sunstreaker shot his brother a glare that told him their conversation was over.

* * *

"My scanners are picking up massive energy readings over there," Jazz stated after a while, "that's gotta be what we're looking for,"

"What do we have to deal with?" Mirage asked.

"Just a few guards," his commander reported, "I've brought a virus that will slow the hub down, that'll keep their command centre busy. I need you to get 'Jack inside, the twins and I will take care of the rest."

"Understood," the spy nodded.

"Sideswipe, use your jetpack, get you and Sunny up onto that roof," Jazz said with a gesture to a nearby building. "You should be able to drop down on the patrol next time they come past."

"What about you?" Wheeljack asked.

"I'll have my hands full with the hub for the next few breems, but I'll be close behind you." Jazz assured him, "Let's do this."

No one waited for anymore. The twins took to the air as instructed and Mirage and Wheeljack crept off to get as close as they could, before the spy activated his invisibility generator. Jazz watched all of them go, silently wished them luck and plunged his consciousness into the hub.

Too many voices to count assailed his audios instantly. Few mechs could stand to listen to the chatter for long but to him the sound was almost as sweet as music. He would have preferred to hear the voices of his friends rather than his enemies, but after the quiet he had been forced to endure for the sake of his mission, it was still a joy to hear.

Above him, Sunstreaker and Sideswipe watched for the right moment to strike. Neither of them could be described as patient mechs so they were pleased that they didn't have to wait long, as soon the Decepticon guards were below them and they leapt from their vantage point into another brief fight.

Mirage waited until the 'Cons were down, then grabbed Wheeljack's hand to keep him close and they ran swiftly and silently into the huge warehouse-like building. The engineer began to curse quietly as he studied the enormous machine that almost filled the structure.

"What is it?" Mirage asked.

"This thing's been running for nearly a cycle," his partner informed him. "It's sucked too much energy out of the planet for us to just destroy it. We'll have to pump a good part of that energy back in first and that's going to take time we don't have."

"But it can be done?" the spy asked.

Wheeljack nodded absently, his processor already more absorbed in the puzzle before him than anything else. His hands moved restlessly, as he mentally went through the process before he even touched the controls.

He was just getting started when Jazz entered the building, asking, "The twins have everything under control out there, what's the score?"

Mirage quickly relayed everything that the engineer had told him and Jazz looked worried. "I hadn't taken that into account," he admitted, "How long do we need?"

"Forty breems minimum," Wheeljack told him, "Getting the energy back where it's supposed to be is faster than pulling it out, but if we blow this thing up with the amount of energon that's stored here and it'll rip a hole in the planet."

"It doesn't look like that much," Sunstreaker scoffed as he walked through the door.

"Aren't you supposed to be outside?" Jazz snapped instantly.

"Sides' got it covered, I stand out too much," the yellow twin snapped, "He says if you've got a breem he'd like to talk to you."

With a rather irritated blast of his vents, Jazz headed back out again. "What's his problem?" Sunstreaker muttered.

"He's got a lot going on in his processor right now, mostly making sure the 'Cons don't find us." Mirage answered.

* * *

"What is it, Sides?" Jazz snapped, although he did have the presence of mind to keep his voice low.

"This seemed like the best chance I was going to get and I'm worried about Sunny," Sides answered quickly, "He's not dealing with this well."

"He doesn't have to handle this Sideswipe, that comes later, _after_ we save the planet and get back to Iacon, when we're back with the 'bots we love and we're safe. For now, all we have to do is try to survive."

The saboteur was about to storm back into the warehouse when the red twin caught him by the arm. "I don't know what's going on Jazz," he hissed "but I'm tired of this slag. I'll follow your orders but I promise you, if you put Sunny in danger I'll tear you apart myself."

"Try it," Jazz dared him, twisting suddenly and freeing himself from Sideswipe's grip, "Find out why I'm Prime's Special Ops Commander. I don't want to fight you Sideswipe, or hurt anyone, but I mean to complete this mission and if the price of Cybertron's future is my life, or Sunny's, yours, 'Jacks, Prowl's, or Bluestreak's then I'll pay it."

"You sparkless glitch," Sideswipe growled, "How do you even look other mechs in the optics?"

"I don't have to," Jazz tapped his visor lightly before his attention shifted without warning, "Decepticons are coming, Sides. You can either come with, and help, me or get inside, it's up to you."

For a moment the red twin looked torn, "You stand a better chance if there's two of us," he said quietly and he followed the saboteur.

"Thank you," Jazz smiled although his expression still seemed too tight for Sideswipe's liking. "If it means anything I'd much rather we all got out of this with all our armour intact."

Sideswipe nodded that he understood and realised at the same time just how tired his friend was. His energon reserves were low again; despite the ration Mirage had given him and the usually effortless grace Jazz moved with seemed forced. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"I will be when we get back to Iacon," Jazz answered without looking round. "There they are, only two this time, that's good. Ready?" He didn't wait for an answer, but his scanners told him that the red warrior was right behind him.

It seemed that the Decepticons hadn't been looking for them, or they would have been paying more attention to what was going on around them. As it was, neither of the Seekers had time to fight back and in much less than a breem, it was all over.

Jazz leant heavily on a wall, giving his systems time to recover, while checking his scanners to make sure there was no one else around. "We need to hide these," he said quietly, "Then get back to the others."

Sideswipe nodded in agreement and hauled one of the fallen mechs over his shoulder. A quick glance around showed him a dark alley and he headed for it. By the time he returned Jazz had picked up the second and it didn't take long for them to finish their grisly task.

As they walked back to the warehouse, Jazz unspaced a pair of rations and offered one to the red twin. Sideswipe looked at it in disgust. "How can you even think of energon at a time like this?"

"I have to, I'm burning a lot of energy just keeping myself up-linked to the hub, it's the only way to keep the whole of Kaon from realising we're here. This is probably going to be our last chance to refuel, so I suggest you take it."

Reluctantly Sideswipe accepted the ration, drank it and retook his original post.

"There are things I need to do inside," Jazz explained, "I'll send 'Raj out to keep you company."

"Thank," Sideswipe nodded, "And Jazz, about what you said earlier…"

"I meant every word of it," Jazz interrupted him before he could get any further, "If all it took to end this war was one sacrifice I'd be the first in line. But here's the catch - each one of us has found a reason, a someone else to live for. Take one mech out and the others will follow and there's no point in fighting if no one lives to see peace. And that's why we need to just get the job done now and deal with it later" he explained before he steeled himself and marched off without giving Sideswipe a chance to say anything else, "How's it comin' 'Jack?" he called one he was inside.

"We're getting there," the engineer answered, "Won't be long now."

"I'll set up the charges then. Mirage, I need you outside. Sunny, have a ration while there's time," he reeled off quickly before he pulled his equipment out of sub-space and started rigging up the energy drainer.

With that done, he stepped back and gave his work one last check, gave a satisfied nod and looked to Wheeljack.

"We're coming up to the safety limits," the engineer reported, "Give the timers as long as you dare, we've done all we can."

Jazz was about to issue his orders when the hub gave him the warning he'd dreaded. "Oh frag," he cursed, "the mechs in the lookout post have been found and this is the first place they're gonna check, let's go!" he activated the bombs he's placed and rushed out with Sunstreaker and Wheeljack right behind him. "Seekers incoming." He informed the others, "Run."

The unit had only taken a few steps when the all-too-familiar drone of Decepticon engines reached their audios. Missiles flew at them and they dove for cover while the impacts rocked the ground and shrapnel rained down.

"The energon in there isn't very stable," Wheeljack shouted, "We have to draw this fight away from it."

"Too late," Jazz informed him, "the containment shield is breaking down. Transform and get the pit out of here. Don't slow down for anything."

The five mechs raced for the edge of the city in their alt modes, the Seekers close behind them and ominous rumbles spurring them on. Not one of them looked back to see the fires that were starting to spread or for anything else, until Mirage gave out a sudden cry of pain and slowed down.

"Report 'Raj," Jazz demanded.

"Just a laser burn to my left flank, nothing serious but it isn't going to help me go any faster," Mirage answered.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own the Transformers, I just like to write about them.

**The Price We Pay**

Chapter 3

It had been a long cycle, the pile of datapads didn't seem to be getting any smaller and Bluestreak was starting to realise that his attention was wandering off, when Prowl's door-wings twitched violently and made him jump.

"What is it?" Bluestreak asked. For a moment he wondered if the older mech had heard him, as the tactician didn't move or speak, just stared vacantly at the opposite wall. "Prowl?" he called again.

Almost a breem passed by as Bluestreak wondered whether or not he should call Ratchet, but before he could make the decision the tactician snapped out of his daze and looked at him. "Did you say something?" he asked.

"A couple of things actually," Bluestreak explained, "Are you okay? I was starting to worry..."

Prowl gave him a warm smile, "I'm fine Blue, or as fine as I can be anyway. I was talking to Jazz."

"Just talking?" Bluestreak asked with a mischievous grin, "Only usually when you're on the comm, you don't freeze up like that."

"Talking through our bond," Prowl said in clarification, "It was a relief to hear from him. He's reached his destination and asked me to come and get him."

"That is a relief," Bluestreak smiled, "Can I come?"

"Not this time Blue. There's a good chance this will end in a fight and you're not able."

"But Prowl…"

"I said 'no' Blue," the tactician snapped before he activated his comm-link, "My unit to the shuttle bay." He stood up and quickly made his way out of the room and the young gunner hesitated for only a moment before he followed.

"Just as far the bay," he said quietly when he caught up with Prowl.

The older mech nodded and they hurried on in silence. It didn't take long for everyone to assemble, Ratchet asking for a situation report as he joined them.

"As good as we could hope for," Prowl answered.

"I still want to come," Bluestreak added petulantly.

"Blue if you want to help, go to the med-bay, I'm sure Perceptor won't turn down the assistance," Ratchet suggested.

"Oh that'll be fun," the young mech snapped before he turned and stalked off.

Both of the older mechs watched him go before they headed into the waiting shuttle, and soon after the shuttle was in the air. As they neared their destination Prowl stilled again, "They've been found," he whispered.

Ratchet glanced up from his equipment with a worried look on his faceplates, "Are they alright?"

"So far, but the chances of them getting away are getting slimmer by the astro-second," Prowl reported fearfully, "Can this thing go any faster?"

* * *

Five engines almost screamed with effort as Jazz' unit did their best to keep ahead of their enemies taunts. Driving along side Mirage, Wheeljack scanned his partner for about the hundredth time. The spy's energy levels weren't falling anymore and his self-repair systems had healed the broken fuel line, but that wasn't going to stop him worrying.

"There's another set of Seekers coming up on our flank," Jazz warned them, "But our shuttle is coming in fast, we won't have to hold them off for long."

"Well if there's a real fight to be had," Sunstreaker snarled, "I'm making the most of it."

"Sunstreaker don't, Prowl's almost here with re-enforcements," Jazz commanded.

The yellow warrior didn't respond, instead he threw himself into a tight turn, transformed and landed on his feet with his sidearm in one hand and a laser knife in the other. "Come on you Slaggers!" he bellowed, "You've proved you can talk a good fight, now let's see you try to win one!"

In answer, the Seekers blazed a trail of shots. He didn't even flinch as they scorched the ground around him, or hesitate to return fire.

A moment later Sideswipe took his place at his brother's side, while Jazz barked orders for Wheeljack and Mirage to keep moving and wheeled round to join the twins. Sunstreaker shot the saboteur a slightly surprised look as he stepped up at his side.

"I don't leave anyone behind," Jazz said quietly, his faceplate was a mask of grim determination that echoed in his stance, "Let's dance," and with a fluid and deadly grace he leapt at the first seeker stupid enough to get too close.

As Jazz had predicted, Prowl's unit joined them after a few breems, but Decepticon re-enforcements had also arrived and before long the fight turned into a fully-fledged battle.

None of that mattered to Sunstreaker, nothing was important except predicting where the next attack was coming from and landing the next blow. The skirmish seemed to pass in a haze of fury to the golden warrior. His attention was for Decepticons only, whether he was shooting them down or finishing them off with his laser knife. Once he even found his shot blocked by Jazz' own weapon, and the saboteur had grinned at him and spun away to face off a new opponent without a word.

"I never thought a savage like you would become an Autobot," a cool, familiar voice sneered from behind him, "Or do they keep you in a cage until they need you to fight?"

Sunstreaker turned slowly, keeping half his processor on what was going on around him, but still meeting the pair of red optics set in a face that he hadn't seen in what felt like a lifetime. "Stormrider," he greeted the other mech menacingly, "Still Megatron's lackey then?"

"He's rewarded me well for my loyalty - my own unit to command, good quarters, more femmes than I could ever ask for. You should join me, I'm sure they'd enjoy you."

"Not that it's anything to do with you, but I have a partner now."

"Sounds tiresome," the seeker taunted him. "They've tamed you Sunstreaker, made you their very own pet killing machine, and for what? Lord Megatron would give you a command, and we could fight side by side again."

"If your lord of nothing at all wanted me to join him, he shouldn't have tried to kill Sideswipe," Sunstreaker snarled. They had already begun circling each other and the fight was inevitable, the only thing he didn't know was which word would start it.

"He was making you weak. You were glorious Sunstreaker, beautiful and merciless, even Megatron loved watching you fight."

"Sideswipe was trying to stop me getting myself killed. My life matters to him, but the same could never be said for you."

"I always had your back, didn't I? How many times did I fight at your side in the games? Did I ever let you down?"

"This isn't The Arena," the yellow twin pointed out coldly, "there are no crowds cheering their favourites in the stalls, no one to say when we've fought enough and announce the winner. We're not gladiators now, we're warriors, and we're not on the same side anymore."

"You never really lost a fight, did you?"

"One," Sunstreaker admitted, "But you weren't involved in that."

Stormrider nodded in agreement, his fingers twitching around his laser knife in what could have been nervousness or anticipation. "Let's find out what's changed and what hasn't," he said quietly.

"Let's," Sunstreaker agreed. He launched himself at his one time friend, but saw only a target.

Their weapons clashed for the first time and Stormrider smiled at him, "You're still beautiful Sunstreaker," he leered, "But is there mercy in your spark now?"

"Not for you."


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own the Transformers, I just like to write about them.

**The Price We Pay**

Chapter 4

From across the battlefield, Sideswipe felt a change in his brother and started running. The fight was almost over and his interest in it evaporated as he realised how serious things were.

Since joining the Autobots, Sunstreaker had felt like a tight ball of red-hot rage when he was fighting, but this was different and so cold it terrified the red twin. He'd convinced himself that this side of his brother had disappeared when they had first met Bluestreak. Their lives had changed that night, the warmth the younger mech had shown Sunstreaker had soothed away the fury, but whatever it was that had altered had undone all that Bluestreak had built.

He was almost to his brother's side when he saw a mangled body and his spark froze as he recognised both the mech and his twin's handy work.

"Did you know him?" Ratchet asked as he came up behind him.

"His name was Stormrider and he was…" he trailed off before he turned to face Ratchet. "We were friends up until we left Perihex. Sunstreaker killed him."

"Your brother did this!" Ratchet exclaimed, "He didn't just kill him, he tore him apart," he added looking for an instant as if he was going to purge his tanks.

"He's not himself right now," Sideswipe whispered, but anything else he was going to say was forgotten as Jazz flew towards them and landed with an uncharacteristic lack of grace a few paces away.

"What the pit?" Ratchet cursed as he started running towards their friend.

Sideswipe headed in the direction that Jazz had come from at top speed. "Don't touch him," he commanded the small group of mechs that circled his brother.

Prowl turned to face him with a furious glare. "Do you know what your slagging brother just did?" he demanded.

"Go to Jazz," Sideswipe advised, "I can handle Sunny."

"You'd better," Prowl hissed before he turned in the direction of his bond-mate.

For the first time, Sideswipe looked at his brother, taking in the tightness of his posture, coiled and ready to lash out at anything that got too close. Energon leaked from several wounds and sparks flickered worryingly in the more serious gashes.

"Sunstreaker! Override code: Sideswipe. Stand down," Sideswipe ordered.

To everyone's amazement, Sunstreaker reacted instantly. He pulled back from the others and turned to face his twin, but his harshly lit optics barely focused before he stumbled and fell into arms that Sideswipe only just managed to bring up in time. "Ratchet!" the red twin screamed both aloud and over the comms.

The medic drew level with him a moment later, quickly running scans over his brother and starting work without hesitation to deactivate the malfunctioning circuits and staunch the broken energon lines.

"How bad is he?" Prowl asked as he rejoined them.

"Not good. I need to start working on him now," Ratchet informed him, "Let's get him to the shuttle."

"He's in a bad way isn't he?" Sideswipe asked quietly once they were alone in one of the smaller cabins.

"Sides, I need to concentrate," Ratchet snapped.

The red twin leant heavily on the nearest wall, as he didn't trust his legs to hold him upright any longer. "He's dying," he whispered.

"No," the medic hissed, "I'm not letting that happen."

"Let me help."

Ratchet fixed the red twin with a glare that would have sent most mechs running before he spoke again, "What can you do Sideswipe?" he demanded.

In answer, the warrior shoved him out of the way and pulled his brother into his arms. "I'm not ready yet Sunny, so you're not going anywhere either," he snarled.

He wasn't really sure what he was doing or how he knew how to do it but somehow his spark did and it reached out for the other half of itself. Bracing it, feeding it, healing it, the flickering that had filled Sideswipe with dread steadied to an even glow and only then did he dare to look up at Ratchet.

"I don't know what I'm doing," he admitted to forestall any questions, "But I don't think I can do it for very long."

Ratchet, who had been staring at him slack-jawed, shook himself and started working feverishly to seal the wounds and set up an energon feeder from his field-kit.

Sideswipe felt himself beginning to falter after a while, having given everything he could keep his brother alive and all he could do was hope that it was enough as he pulled away. He sagged back against the nearest wall and asked, "How is he?"

"Stable," Ratchet replied evenly.

That was the only word Sideswipe needed to hear and if the medic said anything else, it went unheard as he fell into a deep recharge.

Ratchet sat back a few breems later, as there was nothing further he could do for Sunstreaker until they were in the med-bay. He'd already commed Perceptor to get everything he could think of ready for the repairs and when he had realised how low Sideswipe's energy readings were, added in an order for an extra berth for the other twin.

For a brief moment he allowed himself to watch over the brothers and consider them. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe had been the first set of twins he had ever met, and when he had realised that they would be part of his life for a while, he had studied all the information he could find. There hadn't been much, and he had learnt a lot more first hand, but they still found ways to surprise and amaze him once in a while.

That one could keep the other alive was a completely new discovery as far as he knew and also a comfort to him. If they were together (and they nearly always were) then they could keep saving each other and maybe, just maybe they would stand a chance of living long enough to see peace.

They had been so young when he had first met them, he mused, but so much more worldly than Bluestreak that he had worried about the younger mech becoming involved with Sunstreaker. As their relationship progressed he had been forced to admit he was wrong, as the yellow twin had never shown his lover anything but care and fierce, unwavering loyalty.

As the war continued, they had become two of the most fearsome warriors he had ever seen. Ratchet doubted that many others had seen the price they had paid to do that.

Sunstreaker had always been the quieter, less sociable of the pair, but he had become more withdrawn as time had gone on, pushed away most of the mechs who tried to become his friends, and even the few that had managed to get close to him found him difficult to deal with some cycles.

Sideswipe on the other hand, had become louder, his antics regularly landing him in trouble with the officers and in the brig, Ratchet hadn't understood why until the red twin had confessed everything to him over a canister of high-grade a few vorns earlier. A lot had changed between them since that night, they had found sanctuary in each other and reminded themselves what they were fighting for.

Slowly Ratchet rose to his feet, laid a hand in his lover's helm, whispered a quick prayer to Primus and left the cabin.

Wheeljack was waiting for him just outside. "How are they?" he asked quietly.

"They both need work but they'll make it," Ratchet assured him.

The engineer nodded sympathetically, "Keep an optic on 'Raj for me and I'll watch over them 'til we get back to Iacon," he offered.

"Deal," the C.M.O. agreed but a slightly puzzled frown appeared on his faceplate at the same time.

"I don't know what they were thinking, but if they hadn't turned to fight, Mirage might not have got away," Wheeljack explained, "Now go on, there are others that need you."

"Aren't there always?" Ratchet asked tiredly, "Thanks 'Jack," he added gratefully and he moved off, summoning up the anger he needed to keep himself going and wearing it like a mask to hide his worry.

* * *

As he placed the last item Perceptor had requested on the table, Bluestreak couldn't help wonder what was taking so long. He knew that the battle had ended breems ago, that the casualties should start arriving any moment and that his lover was among them but the scientist had refused to tell him much more than that.

Mentally he cursed the lack of his arm. If it wasn't for that, he would have been able to join Prowl's unit and he would already be back with Sunstreaker, but Prowl had refused to give ground despite his protests, "Any news on Sunny, Perceptor?" he asked hesitantly. The last thing he wanted to do was annoy the scientist and get himself kicked out, but the silent med-bay was starting to bother him.

"Not at this time," Perceptor responded, though not unkindly, and he nodded towards the main door just as Jazz limped in with Prowl's arms supporting him.

"Primus," Bluestreak muttered, "What happened? Are you alright?" he asked quickly.

The saboteur gave him a tired smile and sank gratefully down onto a berth, "I'm fine Blue, just a shot to the leg, nothing to worry about,"

"Although I doubt getting thrown across the battlefield by Sunstreaker helped any," Prowl snapped angrily, "I should…"

"Sunny did what?" Bluestreak blurted out before the tactician could get any further.

Jazz shot his partner an unreadable look that was probably accompanied by a few choice words across their bond before he looked back to the younger mech, "I don't know what happened Blue," he admitted, "He was fragged at something, I stepped in to try to calm him down and he lashed out, sent me flying. Ratch and Sides are with him now, they'll all be here in less than a breem."

"Maybe you shouldn't be here Bluestreak," Perceptor suggested, "It's going start getting busy soon."

"Not 'til I see Sunny," the gunner snapped stubbornly.

"Perce is right Blue, you don't want to be here," Jazz began.

"Maybe not," Bluestreak interrupted, "But I need to be."

"Bluestreak," Prowl said in a commanding tone.

"Prowl please, I know you're mad at Sunny, but you can't deny that he's calmer when I'm around, I might be able to help."

"He's got you there," Jazz said with a hint of a smirk on his lip components.

No one was given the chance to say anything else as Wheeljack came in at that moment, all but carrying Mirage. The engineer took one look at Bluestreak and said, "You shouldn't be here."

"We've been through this and I'm staying," Bluestreak said fiercely.

"Sunstreaker's off-line," Ratchet snapped as he entered the med-bay closely followed by four mechs carrying the stretchers that held the twins, "Come back later."

"How bad are they?" Bluestreak asked, folding his arms stubbornly as he looked at the medic.

"Sides is just drained, a full rest cycle, some energon and he'll be fine. Sunstreaker's injuries are serious but he is stable," the medic reported.

"That's good," Bluestreak nodded, "But it doesn't explain why you aren't yelling."

Ratchet stared at him then smiled weakly, "You're starting to understand me, aren't you?" he said thoughtfully. "Something happened to him while he was fighting. Sideswipe was pretty vague about it, but I could tell that he was worried. I think the best I can do is keep Sunstreaker off-line until his brother is able to tell us more, unless you know something I don't. Sides mentioned a mech named Stormrider, he said they were friends when they were in Perihex, does that mean anything to you?"

Bluestreak shook his head, "I never heard of him, but Jazz told me that some of Sunnys friends from back then weren't good 'bots," he looked over to the saboteur.

Jazz was laying almost full length on the berth, leaning back into Prowl, their hands laced together across his chest plate and if he wasn't already in recharge he was close to it. If there hadn't been just a trace of worry on Prowl's face Bluestreak would have been sure that the pair of mechs were just as relaxed as they looked.

"I know you want answers Blue, but he's worn out," Prowl whispered, "As soon as his leg's fixed I'm taking him back to our quarters for some recharge."

"Shouldn't leave Blue," Jazz mumbled.

"You've done enough for now," his partner responded, "I'll come back once you're off-line."

"No," Bluestreak said quietly, "I'll be fine, but Jazz needs you."

"He's right," Ratchet put in, "Besides you all need to rest if you want to be of any help to the twins. Blue, if you don't want to go back to your own quarters, there's a berth in my office you can use."

"But Ratch…" the saboteur and the gunner both began.

"My med-bay, my rules," the C.M.O. snapped, "Don't like that, go fix yourselves and don't come to me for the parts."

Jazz lay back in Prowl's arms obediently, but he shot Bluestreak a grin once he was sure the medic wasn't paying them any attention.

* * *

Much later, Ratchet finally excused himself from the med-bay. The last of the repairs were done and he needed to escape to his office, where he sank down on his chair. He was too tightly wired to face his friends and in his hurry to get away from them he forgot to lock the door, having never thought that someone might come after him and so, was surprised when Bluestreak stepped into the room uninvited a few breems later.

"Are they alright?" the medic asked instantly.

"As good as they were when you left them," Bluestreak answered, "But I'm more worried about you right now."

"I'm fine Blue," Ratchet tried to assure him, but the younger mech wasn't having any of it.

"That's what Jazz says when he doesn't want to tell me what's wrong with him," the younger mech said quietly, "It's a strange thing, on the battlefield no one thinks twice about my age, but when we're off-duty those same mechs treat me a fragile sparkling, the only one who always remembers is Sunstreaker."

"What are you trying to say Bluestreak?" Ratchet asked him tiredly.

"I'm not a youngling anymore Ratchet. Haven't been for a few vorns now, so there's no need for you to treat me like one."

The medic considered him for a moment, seeing both the sparkling he had first met and the mech that stood before him. "I'm sorry Blue," he said sincerely.

"It's not your fault," he shrugged, "Everyone does it, and I am the youngest 'bot on the base, but it can be frustrating sometimes, especially when I see a friend of mine suffering because he thinks he's alone when he's not. You're not the only mech who's in love with a twin, who cares about them both, that's the thing with them, you can't just love one, the other works his way in too."

"I hadn't really given much thought as to how much they affect each other until recently," Ratchet admitted, "I knew all the facts, but that's not the same thing, is it?"

"No," Bluestreak agreed, "Hits hard, doesn't it?"

The medic nodded, "How do you deal with it?"

"I tell myself that if they weren't twins, they wouldn't have lived this long, and that's the reason why nothing can beat them. When one of them is weak, he finds strength in his brother."

The medic nodded in agreement and relaxed in his seat, "I guess that helps. Thanks Blue."

The younger mech flashed him a grin, "You take the berth Ratch, you need the rest more than I do."


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own the Transformers, I just like to write about them Disclaimer: I don't own the characters but they seem to have taken up residence in my head.

Author's notes: For a story that started simply because I decided the my Sunstreaker was too nice this really is getting long, and I'm going to take the chance to warn you that he's quite nasty in this chapter. Sorry about making you all wait for this one but that's what happens when both my wonderful beta Daebereth and I both go on holiday.

**The Price We Pay**

Chapter 5

The red twin's optics on-lined slowly, looking around he realised that Ratchet and Bluestreak leaning over him and pushed himself up, "How long have I been out?"

"Nearly half a cycle," Ratchet informed him.

"How's Sunny?"

"We were going to ask you that one," Bluestreak answered, "Ratch has been keeping him off-line since you both got back."

"Probably a good idea," Sideswipe agreed.

"Sideswipe, what's wrong with him?"

"It's a long story," Sideswipe replied sadly.

"I think it's time it was told," Ratchet said seriously.

The red warrior nodded in reluctant agreement, "First off, this isn't easy for me to talk about, so please don't get angry with me," he pleaded before he drew heavily on his intake vents and started his story. "When Sunny and I were younglings, our mech creator used to take us to the state games. We'd watch the races and the gladiators, where he used to fight sometimes, and after a while Sunstreaker decided that he wanted to do the same. I joined in mainly to watch his back but it was fun, and you know how competitive we can be…"

Both the other mechs nodded in agreement and let him continue.

"We were getting to be pretty good too, but then our femme creator died in a shuttle crash and the mech followed her within a cycle. I wasn't there but Sunstreaker was, he watched him die…"

"Oh Primus," Bluestreak exclaimed.

"Something like that," Sideswipe smirked sadly, "Sunny wouldn't let anyone near him after that, not even me. His grief turned to rage and the only thing that seemed to help was the games, so we fought more and more, until one cycle this new mech showed up and nearly slagged us both. Sunstreaker was furious and by then there weren't any restraints, anything went, so he built a new program for himself, one that overrode everything, pain-responses, system tolerances, and all the rest."

"The stupid…" the C.M.O. began angrily.

"I know," Sideswipe nodded, "The first time he used it he nearly tore the mech we were fighting in half. I tried to stop him and he turned on me. I think that moment was the only time I've ever been afraid of him. He felt my fear and realised what he was doing, after that he installed an override code…"

"Why didn't you just stop him?" Ratchet demanded.

"I tried to," the red twin whispered, "But he wouldn't listen to me. A few cycles later he fought the other mech again. Sunny wouldn't let me help, so I watched as they tried to tear each other apart, I never felt so helpless in my life and eventually I couldn't stand it anymore. I begged the marshals to stop it and eventually they did. They came close to killing each other and it took Sunstreaker almost half a vorn to recover completely. Fortunately for us, by that time the 'Cons had taken Vos…"

"You're saying that he still wanted to fight after everything that happened?" Bluestreak asked.

Sideswipe nodded and caught Bluestreak's hand, "He wanted revenge and nothing else mattered to him, until I managed to convince him to come to Iacon with me and he met you. I got my brother back that night. There have been times since then when he's struggled but he's come through it because of you."

"Why didn't he say anything to me?"

"We put the whole mess behind us after we moved to Iacon. He focused on other things, joined the Autobots and I honestly thought he was dealing. He's not a monster Blue, but he's always been proud."

Ratchet studied the red twin for a moment, "What aren't you telling us Sideswipe?" he asked sternly.

In answer the warrior folded his arms stubbornly and glared at the medic, "I don't think I missed anything."

"Except for who the fights were with," Bluestreak said quietly.

Sideswipe's optics lowered suddenly, and he examined the floor as if it held the answer to all his problems before he made his decision and met the younger mech's gaze steadily, "We didn't know who he was back then, he was using a different name and he must have gotten up-graded not long after that, because neither of us recognised him until we heard him speak at the Senate about ten vorns later."

"Three Decepticons came to see Sentinel," Bluestreak whispered as his optics widened in realisation, "But only one that spoke was Megatron."

The red twin nodded "If Sunny had won that fight, or I'd let them destroy each other, the war would have stalled, maybe even ended and…."

"That's enough," Bluestreak said firmly, "You can't blame yourselves for what's happened."

Sideswipe studied the younger mech's faceplates for a moment, "No wonder Sunny loves you," he said softly, before he looked to Ratchet, "So what do we do?" he asked the medic.

"I can probably remove the program Sunstreaker made," he answered thoughtfully, "but it isn't going to be easy. I'll need him to be on-line for most of it and I can't imagine that he's going to be co-operative. Go and get yourselves some energon while I get things ready."

Knowing that Ratchet wasn't going to give them any more, the two younger mechs left, but they couldn't stay away for long, and when they returned, the medic was just finishing connecting Sunstreaker to a machine.

"What does that do?" Bluestreak asked curiously.

"It'll help me isolate and remove the program Sunstreaker created," Ratchet explained, "But I'll need both of you to keep him as calm as you can while I'm doing it, ready?" he waited until both mechs nodded their confirmation, then brought the golden warrior back on-line.

Sunstreaker's piercing blue optics focused on his lover first almost immediately, "Get away from me," he growled before his glare shifted to his brother, "Get him out of here," he ordered.

"No," Sideswipe responded firmly, "He's here to help you, just like I am and neither of us are leaving you."

"I don't want your help," Sunstreaker snapped, "I like being this way, nothing hurts, there's no doubt or fear," his attention moved suddenly to where Ratchet was already working furiously, "What are you doing?" he demanded.

"It's for your own good," Bluestreak said hesitantly.

"Stop it," the warrior commanded, "I won't be..."

"Please..." his lover began to beg.

"NO!" he roared, his fist rising suddenly and knocking the younger mech off his feet.

"Sunny…" Bluestreak whispered as he pushed himself into a sitting position.

"I am Sunstreaker," the warrior bellowed, emphasising his own name to give it a fearsome quality. In one quick, fluid movement he was off the berth and advancing on the gunner.

Sideswipe shot around the repair table to stand between the two mechs, facing off against his brother and looking just as formidable, "Stand down!" he ordered.

"Stormrider was right," Sunstreaker snarled, "You're making me weak, I'm …"

"That piece of slag almost killed you," Sideswipe interrupted him, "If it wasn't for me, he would have done, I saved your sorry aft, don't make me regret it."

"Liar!" his brother screamed, his hands twitching as if they'd like nothing better than to tear something into pieces. For a moment his seething glare rested on his twin, but then shifted abruptly to where Ratchet was working furiously at his console, "Stop this!" he screamed.

Sideswipe dodged round his brother, once again standing between him and the other mech.

"I have no intention of stopping Sunstreaker," Ratchet growled, "I have to do this."

"Why?" the warrior sneered, "So you can feel like you've done your job at the end of the cycle? So you can report to Prime that everything's fine?"

"Because he cares about us, Sunny," his brother answered on the medic's behalf, "And you know that's true."

"Get out of my way Sideswipe. I'm tired of you holding me back."

"Would you listen yourself," Sideswipe retorted, he was starting to sense a struggle within his twin's spark, whatever Ratchet was doing was working and all he had to do was buy the medic some time, "The Sunstreaker I know isn't like this," he continued, "the strength of his love drives him, his fierce loyalty makes him an Autobot, my brother isn't scared of feeling or afraid to care. You may wear his armour, but you aren't even half the mech he is."

In the meantime, Bluestreak had struggled to his feet. He wasn't hurt, but his processor was reeling because of what had been said since he had hit the floor. Cautiously, he moved to the door of one of the side rooms, opened it, then walked stealthily back to the others. No one looked at him, the twins' optics were locked on each other's and Ratchet was still working hard.

Without giving any warning, Sunstreaker darted forward, feinting one way then weaving the other, trying to get past his twin and he might have made it, if Bluestreak hadn't rushed at him. The young gunner knew that he was no match for the warrior, but he hoped that with Sideswipe's help they could keep him away from Ratchet.

Sideswipe crashed into his brother, knocking Sunstreaker off balance and buying himself a moment to assess the situation. He saw the open door, gave the younger mech a curt nod and together they heaved the golden twin into the side room. Bluestreak slammed his fist down on to the locking pad and leant heavily against the wall to give his overwhelmed systems some time to return to normal.

For a few moment the only sounds in the med-bay were Sunstreakers slightly muffled curses and crashes of armour against metal walls, then Ratchet stepped away from his workstation, "I've done all I can," he announced as he joined the other two mechs.

Sideswipe pushed himself closer to the medic, resting his head tiredly on his partners shoulder before he spoke, "Just tell me that he's going to be okay?" he asked softly.

"It'll take a couple of cycles for the residual effects of what has been done to him to wear off, but after that he should be fine," Ratchet answered soothingly. His arms wrapped themselves around the red twin and he allowed himself to relax into his lover's embrace, "He can stay there until he's more stable."

"He'd be more comfortable in our quarters," Sideswipe protested.

"Until he can control his temper better, it'll be safer for him to stay here," Ratchet stated, "And I don't want either of you going in to him alone, understood?" When Sideswipe nodded grudgingly Ratchet looked over to Bluestreak. The younger mech hadn't moved since he had locked the door and looked so miserable that the medics spark ached as he watched him, "Are you alright Bluestreak?" he asked.

The small grey mech shook his head, "Did we… did we do the right thing for him?" he whispered.

"I have no doubts," Ratchet said sternly, "Leaving Sunstreaker how he was could never end well, and he'll see that once his processor catches up with itself."

"I need to get out of here, I can't stand hear and listen to that," Bluestreak muttered with a gesture to the isolation room that contained his lover before he started to head for the door, "I'll come back later to check in but I need…" his voice was cut off as the main door to the med-bay closed behind him.

"Maybe I should go after him," Sideswipe suggested.

Ratchet shook his head, "Leave him be, he'll come back when he's ready but right now he needs some time."

* * *

After a few breems of wandering the base aimlessly, Bluestreak was forced to admit that he didn't feel any better. Everything he had witnessed in the med-bay kept repeating mercilessly itself in his processor. The fury in his lover's optics and scathing words haunted him, and the admission that Sideswipe had been the one to save Sunstreaker's life left him wanting to purge his tanks.

To his processor, Ratchet was the one who always repaired them when they were hurt. Until that moment he hadn't known how seriously his lover had been injured, and he didn't know what had happened to cause Sideswipe's intervention, but it bothered him greatly.

Finding himself in the residential area of the base, he decided that being alone wasn't helping and after checking the duty rosters to make sure that at least one of them would be there, he headed for Jazz and Prowl's quarters.

The last he had seen of Jazz, the older mech had looked absolutely exhausted but that had been almost half a cycle earlier and the saboteur had had time to rest up since then, so he didn't feel guilty about disturbing them, but he still knocked softly, just in case one or both of the officers was in recharge.

Prowl opened the door quickly, "Hello Bluestreak," he said with just a hint of surprise in his voice, "Come in," he continued and he stepped back to allow the younger mech to enter, "How is Sunstreaker?" the tactician asked once the door had closed behind them.

"Ratchet says that he'll be okay, but he needs time to get over the changes to his programming," Bluestreak said miserably, "I needed to get away for a while, if I'm interrupting anything I can leave," he added as he noticed that Jazz was laying full length on the floor of their main living area.

Jazz looked up and smirked as Bluestreak spoke, "The only thing you're interrupting is me indulging myself in a few breems of music," he stated with an amused chuckle, "I just finished making my reports and catching up with the hub, I was gonna come down to check on you once I'd relaxed a little."

"Unless you're dying, I'd suggest staying away from medical for a while. Now that Sunny's been treated, I think Sideswipe might want some time with Ratchet," Bluestreak informed the saboteur.

The black and whites smile broadened as he bounced easily to his feet, "So that's why you thought you'd come to see us."

"Pretty much," Bluestreak admitted, "You're looking better."

"After nearly half a cycle in recharge he should do," Prowl said with a pointed look to his lover.

"Yeah, yeah," Jazz drawled lazily.

Bluestreak chuckled and realised that seeing the mechs he still thought of as his guardians so at ease was making him feel a whole lot better.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own the Transformers, I just like to write about them.

Author's note: Yay, finally, all I can do is apologise for how late this is, but between writers block and the chaos my real life has descended into it's lucky that I got this finished at all, I won't bore you with details but I will say that I'm doing better now and things are looking up. The other thing I have to say is my heartfelt thanks to the wonderful Daebereth, not just for betaing this, but for really coming through for me time after time in the last month or so, thank you babe, you're amazing. Okay let's do this shall we.

**The Price We Pay**

Chapter 6

A few more steps and he would be there, a few more moments and he would be making the speech that he dreaded. There was no backing out. Like so many things that had to be done, he had been given no choice and all he could do was hope that his unit would follow him. He hated the fact that he had to ask so much of them but that was what a commander did.

Just before he reached the door, he paused, allowed himself a moment to settle the nervousness that seemed to buzz around his systems, cycled his vents once to calm himself, then moved on again.

Optimus Prime strode purposefully into the room and glanced around the 'bots that had gathered, mentally checking them all off and finding relief in the fact that everyone was already there.

His optics settled on Elita One, and just for an astro-second and through his spark he reached out to her. She responded lovingly, reassuring him that he was doing the only thing that could be done, and he found himself wanting to stay right there, wrapped up in their bond. It was so new to him, less than a vorn had passed since it had been forged, but he couldn't imagine his life without it.

Sensing his reluctance to pull away, his bond-mate gave him one last burst of the love she felt for him and moved her attention away from the link.

Only one mech in the room seemed to have noticed the brief exchange, but Optimus was so used to Jazz's ability to know exactly what was going on that he wasn't surprised when the saboteur gave him a quick, knowing nod and returned his focus to the gathering before anyone else realised that it had been anywhere else.

One last stride brought him level with his officers, Prowl and Ironhide flanking him, both mechs' faceplates unreadable. On Ironhide's other side, Ratchet then Wheeljack stood to attention. He noticed that the C.M.O. seemed agitated, but that was nothing new - what was different, was that his optics rarely moved from where Sideswipe sat with Bluestreak. With his twin still in the med-bay, the red warrior could be forgiven for looking unhappy about being called to the meeting and the young gunner beside him fidgeted nervously.

Wheeljack fiddled with the datapad he had shown his commander earlier in the cycle as if he would rather not know the information it contained. Optimus could understand his situation, as that data was the reason for the meeting and none of it was good news.

On the other end of the line, next to his bond-mate, Jazz stood motionless. From long experience, Prime knew that this was a rare occurrence. The saboteur hardly ever appeared so still and although Optimus would never admit it, the black and white's stiff posture and serious manner bothered him, as it just didn't seem natural.

Of all his officers, the Special Ops commander was the one that still perplexed him, off-duty Jazz was easy-going and almost always ready with a cheerful word or smile, but as an officer he was also without question, among the more dangerous in his unit and the hardest to predict.

Every once in a while, Optimus remembered a mech who he had guided home vorns earlier, a mech whose optics didn't work very well and was getting over a virus, and it seemed impossible to the Prime that the mech had become the one who stood only a pace away from him.

All of these thoughts came to him in a spark-pulse and were dismissed just as quickly. He couldn't afford such distractions, there was work to be done, he told himself, and he forced himself to begin.

"My fellow Autobots," he began in a neutral but clear tone, "You all know the events of the last cycles, of the danger that threatened us and that some of us risked their lives to save us all. Thanks to them we have time, but it has been brought to my attention that Megatron's weapon has damaged our planet. The energon reserves have been depleted and unless we find an alternative source we will be unable to sustain ourselves."

A hum of whispered exclamations shot around the room then quieted again, all optics looking at him expectantly.

"We have one real chance: a mission to other planets, other Autobot outposts or uninhabited worlds to find the energy we need and replenish our home. This mission may well be dangerous and because of this, I am asking for volunteers. You represent the best our forces have to offer and I have only one question for you all: can you find it in your sparks to risk your lives to give Cybertron a chance of survival?"

"How long will we be gone?" a voice called from the crowd.

"I cannot answer that. I hope that we will find what we need quickly, but nothing is certain at this time. I am not asking you to decide now, think on what I have said and report to your unit commanders when you have made your choice."

He stepped back as urgent conversations filled the room and found himself thanking Primus that his task was done. Ultra Magnus and Elita One joined him almost immediately.

"We're both with you," his bond-mate said warmly.

"No," he replied reluctantly, "The Autobots will need leaders while I am gone and I am trusting the two of you with that responsibility."

"But Optimus…" Ultra Magnus began.

"That decision is made," he said firmly. "I will not abandon those I leave behind. Everyone knows how much you both mean to me and your presence will reassure them. You will take command of Iacon and keep it safe until I return."

"You plannin' on leavin' me here too?" Ironhide's gruff voice asked.

"The idea never occurred to me old friend," Optimus answered honestly.

The red mech appeared somewhat mollified and glanced out into the crowd, "Let's just hope some of them chose to join us," he muttered.

* * *

The meeting had broken up quickly once Optimus Prime had left the room. Wheeljack had stayed, hoping to catch Mirage, but there had been no sign of the blue and white. He'd even asked Hound, as the scout was one of the few Autobots who had the right scanners to detect the spy when he was invisible, but he hadn't been able to help.

So the engineer had left the rec room and headed for his lover's quarters. Mirage had once told him that, although he had travelled a lot as a youngling, he had never visited another planet to rival Cybertron's beauty and that he would not leave the planet again. That statement combined with the spy's hasty exit worried Wheeljack.

He hoped that he would be able to change his partner's opinion. Travelling the galaxy sounded like an adventure to the engineer, but if he had to leave Mirage behind he knew it would be a lonely one.

Hesitantly he knocked on the door. It was unusual for him to go to his lover's rooms, as an officer Wheeljack had the luxury of private quarters, but Mirage shared his with Hound. The three mechs got on well, but part of living with so many 'bots was respecting each other's boundaries, so normally Mirage came to him.

"Enter," Mirage called and the door slid open. The room beyond was an odd mix of the spy's extravagant tastes and Hound's simple possessions. Wheeljack recognised some the green mech's sparse collection of treasures, most of which had been saved from the ruins of Perihex vorns earlier and found their familiarity comforting.

The thing that caught and held his attention though was a large, beautiful painting of Crystal City, Mirage's former home captured perfectly, glowing with the lights of thousands of energy crystals taken from nearby mines and used to build the spectacular complex.

"It's magnificent," he said quietly.

Mirage nodded and moved to stand at his shoulder. "Just like the real thing," he muttered sadly, "I will never forget the glory of my home."

"Nor I, but we can't live in the past 'Raj, your city was a marvel but it fell because it couldn't evolve."

"If hoping for peace has become a sin, then I would hope it is one we are all guilty of," the spy said curtly, "I know why you're here Wheeljack, and I can tell you now that I will not change my decision. Cybertron is my home, I cannot abandon it to the Decepticons."

"Not even to save it?" Wheeljack asked. "Perceptor and I both checked that report several times, we didn't make any mistakes, if we don't take this chance then Cybertron will fade into memory, just like Crystal City."

Mirage folded his arms stubbornly. "I would rather die trying to protect what I have now than give up everything again."

"Kaon was beautiful once," the engineer said softly, "I had a good life there, a home, a job, a femme, and I lost it all when the Decepticons took the city. Some mechs might have said that I was lucky, as I was in Perihex on business, but everything I knew and everyone I loved was destroyed. I'm not delusional, I know that if I'd have been there I would have perished too, but it took a long time for me to be thankful that I survived."

Mirage nodded, "that sounds a lot like how I felt," he admitted, "But then I met the Autobots and you…" his voice trailed off as doubt crept onto his proud face, and Wheeljack was glad of the mask that hid his smile.

"We've all lost a lot to this war, but somehow we found each other, so I'm going to ask you just once, will you come on the mission? Not for Prime but for me."

For a long moment the spy looked at Wheeljack, then turned his face to look at the picture of his former home, and after nearly a breem of silence he looked back, "For you," he agreed in a whisper before they embraced as if they never wanted to let go of each other again.

* * *

The door of his quarters cycled shut behind Jazz and he threw himself into a chair with a relieved blast of his vents. Close to his hand lay the datapad that contained his copy of Wheeljack's report to Prime, and fury rose in him at the sight of it. He'd done everything he possibly could have done but it hadn't been enough.

With a feral snarl he hurled it away, it bounced off his nearby desk and shattered. The sound of it breaking felt wonderful to him, and while he knew that in reality the broken pad changed nothing, just for a moment he allowed himself to pretend that he had solved the problem. He snatched up another pad and launched it after the first, a third and a fourth followed quickly.

He'd just picked up the last of the infernal devices when strong arms wrapped around him and pinned him effectively, "What in the name of Primus are you doing?" his bond-mate's voice demanded.

"Breaking things," he answered without any sign of remorse, "Wanna help?"

"Why?"

"It feels good," he retorted as he crushed the final datapad in his hand. "And it's my job to make a mess, or did you forget that?"

"I never have Jazz, but I fail to see how smashing up our quarters will help anything."

Jazz stopped struggling and leant heavily against his lover. "Every datapad makes it worse, reports of cities falling, failed assignments, casualties, when was the last time we won anything more than a minor skirmish? Or had a completely successful mission? We fight, we lose, we get a little bit harder and tell ourselves that next time we'll do better but we never do, we're not just losing this war Prowl, we're losing who we are too."

"I should have realised how much you knew," Prowl said sadly, "You never were one to ignore the truth."

"Who else knows?"

"Prime, Ironhide, Red Alert, everyone has access to the reports, but I doubt many read them. I told Bluestreak a few cycles ago, maybe that was wrong but with the way things have turned out, I think it's good that he knows."

"D'you think he'll come?"

"I think that whatever he chooses, we have to back him," Prowl said simply. "But in the meantime, I think you should go down to medical and get your hand looked at while I clean up the mess you made."

Jazz looked down and was surprised to see that the shattered datapad had sliced open a coolant line and blue fluid was slowly seeping through his fingers. "Ratchet is not going to be pleased to see me, is he?" he muttered.

Prowl shook his head with a fond smile, "I'll come down to you once I'm done."

* * *

Cautiously, Sideswipe peered into the med-bay. It didn't take a genius to work out that Ratchet was in a foul mood, the crashes and bangs that gave that away could be heard several corridors over and that never boded well.

The red twin had also seen his lover's faceplates before the medic had left the meeting. Everyone who had stood in his path had received a glare that all of them knew better than to tangle with, but Sideswipe firmly believed that he could handle what ever was wrong.

Over the vorns they had been together he'd learnt a lot about Ratchet's temper. He'd never been one to back down from it anyway, but after a while he had realised that letting his partner rant until his anger was spent and then making up was far more productive than letting Ratchet fume for cycles.

"You okay Ratch?" he asked cheerfully once he was fairly sure he could make it through the door without being hit by any projectiles.

"No," the medic snapped, "Go away."

"You know me better than that," Sideswipe smirked. "Let's have this out shall we?"

"Not this time Sides."

"Why not?"

"I don't want to."

"Since when did that make a difference?" the red warrior argued. "Slag it Ratch, you've never held back on me, so why start now?"

The medic turned, his stance was as tense as Sideswipe had ever seen him and his optics were bright with fury, "Because I'd rather we didn't end in an argument," he explained fiercely.

"What?"

"This mission of Prime's, I know he said volunteers, but I'm his C.M.O., he needs me with him and your brother needs you here."

"Sunny might come," Sideswipe whispered, but his confidence was wavering.

"He will stay with Blue, you know that, and Bluestreak won't want to risk the mech he loves again so soon. Sunstreaker's systems need time to recover, not another dangerous situation."

"He can beat this," the warrior insisted.

"I'm not saying he can't, just that he needs time and you."

"How come every time things get hard the first thing you do is give up on us?" Sideswipe ranted, "Haven't you realised yet that I am in love with you? Is it that I don't say it often enough? Or just that you don't believe me? I'd do anything for you but you keep pushing me away."

The sound of something breaking snapped both mechs' attention to the side room where Sunstreaker was confined, and whatever Ratchet had been about to say didn't make it out of his processor.

"What the slag is going on in there?" the medic demanded to know.

"Something's got Sunny fragged," Sideswipe muttered, as he looked deeper into the bond, fearing what he might find.

"Did he hear us?" Ratchet asked.

Sideswipe shook his head mutely, sensing that Sunstreaker's rage was not directed at him, just before a new sensation burst into the bond and realisation dawned. "Blue," he said in a horrified whisper, "He's in there with him."

Ratchet stormed across to the door, uttering a stream of curses as he moved. Sideswipe followed with trepidation, unable to work out what was happening to his brother.

"It's jammed," Ratchet snarled. "The only mech who has ever managed to lock me out of my med-bay is Jazz. I'm calling him down and all we can do is hope that he can unscramble this mess."

"Don't bother with the comm, I'm right here," the saboteur said smoothly, causing the other two mechs to spin around in surprise. "What's happened?"

"This is what happens when 'bots like you raise sparklings," the medic hissed, "Get that door open!"

Jazz didn't need any further prompting and bent to his task without a word. "Blue did a good job," he muttered after a brief moment, "But I'm better."

"I don't care if you're Primus himself," the medic snapped. "What are you doing here anyway?"

The black and white didn't look up but somehow managed to give the others the impression that he was embarrassed. "I had a little accident in our quarters, I came to get it fixed, but it can wait," he explained.

"Just do what you've got to do," Sideswipe cut in, "I don't know what's going on in there but Sunny's afraid, I can feel it," fear crept onto the red twin's faceplates as he spoke and Ratchet found himself needing to try to comfort his lover.

"It's going to be alright," he said soothingly as he wrapped his arms around Sideswipe. The warrior shook at his touch and sank into his embrace.

"I don't understand this," he murmured, "Sunny and I don't usually effect each other like this, but since the shuttle back to Iacon, I've been more aware of him…" he broke off with a puzzled frown.

"What is it?" Ratchet prompted.

"It's Sunny, he's fine… and I mean fine, he's happy."

"Jazz, I thought you came down here for medical attention," Prowl stated as he joined the small group and looked down at his lover.

"Well that was the plan," Jazz muttered. "But it didn't pan out that way, Blue locked himself in with Sunny and Ratchet isn't doing anything else until they're out."

Prowl nodded, his concern for the younger mech clearly visible on his face and stepped back to allow his bond-mate to continue.

"We're in," Jazz called triumphantly as the door finally slid open. Sideswipe pushed passed him instantly and ran to Sunstreaker.

The yellow twin looked up from what appeared to be a very tender moment with his young lover and found himself all but pinned to the berth by his brother within an astro-second.

"Sides…" he began only to be cut off abruptly by the red warrior.

"What the Pit has been going on in here?" Sideswipe demanded, but his tone was softer and thick with emotion when he spoke again. "One moment you're angry, then you're scared and all of a sudden… you're alright… and I mean completely fine, you haven't felt this calm in I don't know how long."

"It was Blue," Sunstreaker said with a nod to the younger mech, "He realised what was wrong and fixed it."

"How?" Ratchet barked from the doorway where he and the other two officers were still standing.

"Sunny was struggling because of the holes in his programming," Bluestreak explained in a quick, nervous tone, "I patched them up, it was easy really."

"Then why didn't you come to me?" the C.M.O. snapped. "You couldn't have known how Sunstreaker would react, he could easily have hurt you and then what would happen to him?"

"I knew what I was doing," Bluestreak informed the medic.

Jazz cut off any retort Ratchet had by stepping between them. "The important thing here is that it worked," he stated calmingly, "And that just leaves us to answer one question, what do we do now?"

"If you're talking about the mission that Prime has planned," Bluestreak answered, "Sunny and I have made our decision," he stood up, leaving the twins behind and looked at Prowl. "I know that you're not my unit commander but Ironhide isn't here so I'm telling you instead. We're in but…" he hesitated to draw a calming draft through his intake vents, "This will be my last mission, when it's done I'm putting in for some alternate training, taking myself off the frontline and bonding Sunstreaker."

Sideswipe was the first to react, diving at his twin again and grinning from audio to audio. Jazz clapped Bluestreak on the shoulder then drew him into a warm hug, to be joined a moment later by a beaming Prowl. As the twins stood to join the others the red warrior realised that Ratchet had disappeared. He was about to go searching for his partner when the medic returned to the side room with a canister of high-grade and enough smaller drinking vessels to go around.

"It seems like a celebration is in order," he smirked, "Prowl, as ranking officer, would you like to make a toast."

Prowl shook his head solemnly. "Not as an officer," he said with a glance to Jazz, "As a guardian and as a friend. Everyone in this room has known Blue and Sunny for vorns, if not all their lives, we've watched them grow up, loved them unconditionally, stood at their shoulders, they've come through for us when we've needed them and it's because of them that the rest of us have become a family, which in itself is something we can all be thankful for…"

"What he's trying to say," Jazz interrupted impatiently, "is that we love you, we're proud to call you our friends and that we couldn't be happier for the two of you."

"_Thanks,"_ Prowl said softly through their bond as Bluestreak beamed at the two older mechs, _"All we have to do now is make sure they get through the mission."_

"_I know,"_ the saboteur agreed grimly, _"No matter the cost."_

* * *

A/n: Yeah I know I'm talking a lot on this one, but I wanted to say that there will be one more chapter on this one, there are a few loose ends I need to tie up before they leave Cybertron, so if there is anything you want to see or think I might miss let me know. Also, the bit where Blue and Sunny are alone together will be going up in Treasured Times just as soon as I get the chance. Thank you for reading.


	7. Epilogue

Disclaimer: I don't own the Transformers, I just like to write about them.

A/n: I'm skipping ahead a little here, imagine that the Cybertronian equivalent of a few months has passed, and preparations for leaving the planet are in the final phase. I know I'm changing time here but even the idea of trying to write 5 million years worth of stories is insane. I had a bit of a chat with Daebereth while I was trying to work out how to end this and it seemed right to both of us that one of the mechs should have a chance to tell us this part of their story, so I'm going to take this chance to thank her from the bottom of my heart for the trouble she took to correct my lousy grammar while keeping things in character, and hand you over to Bluestreak.

* * *

Epilogue

It won't be long now, a couple of cycles at the most and then it'll be farewell Cybertron, hello adventure. I'm looking forward to leaving, anything that takes me further away from the ruins of Uraya is fine by me, but not everyone is so happy. I know Mirage in particular is struggling with his decision. I've spent a fair bit of time with him over the last few cycles as he, the twins and I have been helping Wheeljack with some of the repairs and up-grades that needed to be done to our ship.

You should see The Ark, it's beautiful, well I think so, Sunny doesn't like the colour scheme, he can be a hard mech to please when it comes to things like that, but I like it, being on the ship makes me feel free even if it hasn't taken off yet.

My musing is interrupted by a very short comm from Prowl, but I don't mind, as it's two words I've been waiting to hear for a few cycles now: "He's back." There's definite relief in his tone and I can't help grinning as I tidy away the tools I've been using. Jazz has been running the missions that have been keeping us in energon for almost a quarter of a vorn and I've only seen him twice in that time.

From what I know, he's done a good job at keeping us supplied, but Wheeljack was the last to report any success, he didn't find much though, and Prowl called everyone home earlier in the cycle, Jazz is the last to return.

I smile when I see him, even if he does look exhausted, and he breaks away from Prowl just long enough to give me a hug. I can tell by the way that they're standing together that they've been apart for too long, the distance they are willing to put between them is a pretty good indicator of that and right now they won't move out of arms reach of each other.

"Can I show you around The Ark?" I ask. Prowl told me a few cycles ago that Jazz was looking forward to seeing it, but it's plain to see that he's also worn out and should probably refuel at least before he does anything else.

"Sure," he grins and I lead him back down to the docks.

It worries me that he won't recharge until everything is done, it's odd because he's the one that makes sure everyone else gets a break, but that's Jazz. His tiredness disappears as he follows me into the ship, partly because he's found something that interests him, but mostly because there are other mechs about, and while he trusts Prowl and I enough to let us see how he's feeling, not many mechs get to see that.

"What are these?" he asks as I lead him into what used to be a cargo bay.

"Stasis booths," I answer, "Most of the crew will be travelling in them to save energy."

"Including you?" he queries as he studies one closer.

"Sunny and I volunteered, he doesn't like being cooped up and I don't mind, it's only really the bridge crew that will be on-line for the journey, and there won't be much for me to do."

Jazz looks at the booth sceptically, then at Prowl, "I hope you're not thinking of putting me in one of these things."

"Tempting but no," Prowl says with a smirk, "I have plans for you."

"Really?" Jazz asks playfully.

Sometimes I can't help but wonder if Primus created Jazz simply to tease Prowl, but in an odd way he needs it, needs reminding that there is more to life than plans and data-pads, which he can quite easily bury himself in if he's given the chance.

We pass through the living section of the ship quickly as there isn't really much to see there and head for the bridge.

Prowl leads Jazz over to the helm before he says, "This is where you'll be."

"I'm no pilot," Jazz protests. "Ask 'Breaker."

"He'll be helping you," Prowl assures him, "but having bonded mechs at the helm and on tactical gives us a better chance should we run into trouble. We can react to each other faster than any other mechs on board, and we need to use every advantage we have."

There seems to be more to the conversation than I get to hear, so I wait patiently for them to finish and it's not long before Jazz is chuckling, my guess is that that they weren't just talking about who's going to be where once everything is ready to go.

The back part of the bridge is where I've spent most of my time and at the moment it's my favourite place on the Ark, I've been helping to install some of the consoles and I have to say that it's really nice to make something for a change, even if I have had Wheeljack or Perceptor watching over my shoulder most of the time.

"Jazz, I'd like you to meet Teletraan I," I say proudly, "I've been helping Wheeljack build him and he's the best computer ever made."

"Greetings," Teletraan says instantly.

"Hello," Jazz smiles indulgently, "It's nice to meet you."

"Voice recognition activated, please confirm designation Jazz, rank Special Operations Commander and third to Optimus Prime."

"Yep, that's me," Jazz nods and with a murmur of appreciation he starts looking over the terminal.

He seems impressed but doesn't get the chance to say anything before Wheeljack arrives, takes one look at him and snaps, "Jazz if you hack that computer before we even get of the ground I'm gonna…"

"Good to see you too 'Jack," he interrupts him warmly, "and I'm just looking… for now." He gives our engineer one of those grins that makes everyone forget that he's the Special Ops Commander and one of the most lethal mechs in our unit, for now he's just a mech, just Jazz and Wheeljack responds with a flash of his vocal indicators that signifies a fond smile.

Within a breem, both of them have their heads inside the computer and are giggling like younglings as 'Jack explains some of the upgrades he has invented to make Teletraan the most advanced computer on our planet.

Their playful interaction is interrupted suddenly when Wheeljack lets out a rather undignified yelp and an instant later Mirage appears close to his feet.

"Hey 'Raj," Jazz greets him without missing a beat, "How's things?" As they emerge, Wheeljack shoots him a 'You could have warned me' look before he wraps an arm around our spy's waist.

"It was too good a chance to pass up," Mirage admits shamelessly before he looks at Jazz, "I won't say that I'm looking forward to leaving, but I would rather be among the stars with Wheeljack than in Iacon on my own."

Who'd have thought that 'Raj could be so romantic? But I know what he means. I'll admit that I was as surprised as anyone when those two got together, but I've never seen either of them as happy as when they are like this so I guess things are going well.

"How's about we leave these two alone?" Jazz suggests. "Where's next?" he asks me.

"Wait and see," I tease him.

If Teletraan and the command centre are the processor of The Ark, then the rec room must be its spark, some of us are already living on-board so there's nearly always someone there and even if there isn't, it's a good place to go for an energon ration, which I'm fairly certain Jazz could use.

As we head to our destination I watch Jazz out of the corner of my optic, he and Prowl are walking arm in arm, looking comfortable and carefree which is always nice to see, Jazz's free hand trails lightly across the walls of the corridor as he moves and I notice this only because I remember doing the exact same thing while I was being shown around.

Three mechs look up as we enter the rec room, Hound and Trailbreaker nod greetings but they're halfway through wiring a panel and can't afford the distraction, while Sunstreaker leaves the chair he was putting together, dusts himself off and saunters over to join us.

Primus but he's beautiful and I'm a lucky mech, I just hope that this mission doesn't last long, because I can't wait to bond with him, we may both be young but we've been through so much together that I don't think either of us can imagine being with anyone else.

"Hey Jazz," he says before he slips an arm across my shoulders.

"Sunny," Jazz nods, "How are you?"

"I'm good."

For once he's telling the truth, Sunstreaker has been calmer than I've ever known him for a while now, he didn't even have much of a grumble while we were working in one of the coolant shafts a few cycles ago and we both got filthy doing that.

While they're talking, Prowl takes the chance to grab a ration from the dispenser and hands it over to Jazz. He takes it with a grateful nod and drinks it quickly, only Primus knows when he last had the chance to refuel and I can't help feeling guilty that I've kept him busy for so long but he doesn't give me time to say anything before he starts poking around, everything seems to meet with his approval and he turns to Prowl.

"You haven't stopped, have you?" he asks.

"Neither have you," Prowl points out, "But everything will be ready soon, shall we move on?"

"Sooner this is done, sooner I can get some recharge," Jazz agrees.

There's only really one more place in the Ark to go, some of the crew are already referring to it as Ratchet's lair, but its true name is the med-bay.

The sound of laughter greets us as we enter, Ratchet is standing in the centre of the room, hands on hips and a tangle of wires caught in his chevron, Sideswipe is using one of the berths to hold himself up while he tries to stop laughing.

"It's a good look Ratch," Jazz smirks.

Our C.M.O. snarls at him, removes his decoration, scrunches it up in his hands and throws it at Sideswipe.

"Don't be like that Ratchet," Sideswipe says cheerfully, "It wasn't my fault."

"Actually, yes it was," Ratchet scolds him, a smile is starting to pull at his lip components, but whether it's at the thought of whatever they were doing or at what he's going to do to Sideswipe later I honestly don't know.

"So that's the Ark," I say hoping I can give Sideswipe time to make his escape if he thinks he needs to, but he doesn't seem to acknowledge that he's in any danger and hops up to perch on the edge of the berth.

Jazz takes a seat too, before he speaks, "It's an odd thing," he says in thoughtful tone, "but all this gettin' ready to leave has made me think about how far we've already come."

Prowl lays a hand on his shoulder and nods in agreement. A more sombre mood settles over all of us, even Sideswipe, as we think on Jazz's words, they're true, each and everyone of us has changed so much in the time we've know each other.

Three of us are officers, the twins are warriors and I'm one of the best sharp shooters in Prime's army, but there's a lot more to it than that, we're all so much more than we were, we've suffered and there have been times when each of has struggled but we've pulled together, supported each other, shared the pain, and if that's the price of being part of something so much stronger than we would be if we were alone, then I'm happy to pay it.

* * *

A/n #2: So that's it, goodbye Cybertron, next stop Earth. I've got to say that it's been a blast, and thank everyone who has made it this far, I write to keep myself sane, but knowing that others have read and enjoyed my stories gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling that I'm truly grateful for. Thank you. FB.


End file.
